Getting ready for cloudy weather | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Parece que está nublado afuera.

   It looks cloudy outside.

   Parece que

   It seems that

   está

   is

   nublado

   cloudy

   afuera

   outside

   More detail

   Parece que introduces an appearance or impression: “it seems that …” or “it looks like …”. Parece is the third-person singular present form of parecer. The following clause normally states what appears to be true. Example: Parece que va a llover. — “It looks like it is going to rain.” está is the third-person singular present form of estar, “to be.” Here it forms a temporary current-state description. Spanish uses estar rather than ser for a condition such as the current weather. Example: La puerta está abierta. — “The door is open.” nublado means “cloudy” here. It is the masculine singular form of the adjective nublado; in the weather expression está nublado, Spanish describes the sky or weather without naming a specific noun. The adjective can agree with an expressed noun when one is present: El cielo está nublado. — “The sky is cloudy.” afuera is an adverb meaning “outside” or “outdoors.” It adds the location to the weather description. Example: Hace frío afuera. — “It is cold outside.” Together, Parece que está nublado afuera. means “It looks cloudy outside.” The pattern Parece que + clause is reusable for an observation or impression, while está nublado describes the current cloudy condition and afuera specifies that it is outside.

2. Llévate un abrigo para el frío.

   Take a warm coat with you.

   Llévate

   take with you

   abrigo

   coat

   frío

   cold

   More detail

   Llévate is an affirmative command addressed to one tú listener. It combines lleva, the command form of llevar, with the attached pronoun te: lleva + te → llévate. In this construction, te marks the person who takes the item along. The written accent keeps the intended stress after the pronoun is attached. Compare Lleva el abrigo (“Take the coat”) with Llévate el abrigo (“Take the coat with you”). abrigo is a masculine singular noun meaning a coat or outer garment. The phrase un abrigo introduces one not-yet-specified coat; un is an indefinite article, not by itself a statement that the speaker is counting coats. A useful related contrast is chaqueta (“jacket”), which is a different noun and is feminine: una chaqueta. frío here is a masculine singular noun meaning cold, not an adjective modifying abrigo. The article el shows this noun use in el frío. The adjective is also frío in a different structure, for example un día frío (“a cold day”); there it describes día. In para el frío, para introduces the purpose or situation: the coat is intended for protection against cold. Together, Llévate un abrigo tells the listener to take a coat along, and para el frío gives the reason or intended use. The complete meaning is: “Take a warm coat with you.”

3. ¿Se siente frío el viento?

   Does the wind feel cold?

   Se siente

   feels

   frío

   cold

   viento

   wind

   More detail

   Se siente means “feels” here: sentirse is the pronominal form used for experiencing or perceiving a sensation. Siente is the present-tense form for a third-person singular subject; in this sentence, that subject is el viento. Compare sentir without se, which can mean “to feel” something directly or “to regret,” depending on the construction. Example: La tela se siente suave. — “The fabric feels soft.” Frío means “cold” here. It is an adjective, and its masculine singular form agrees with el viento: frío. The feminine singular form is fría, as in La brisa se siente fría. — “The breeze feels cold.” This adjective describes the sensation produced by the wind; it is not the noun for “cold” in the separate expression hace frío. Viento means “wind.” It is a masculine singular noun, as shown by the article el. A useful related weather expression is hay viento — “it is windy” or literally “there is wind.” Example: El viento sopla fuerte. — “The wind blows strongly.” Together, se siente frío asks about the sensation, and el viento identifies what produces that sensation. The word order places the verb phrase before the subject, so ¿Se siente frío el viento? literally follows the pattern “Does-feel cold the wind?” Natural English is “Does the wind feel cold?”

4. Hoy hace frío y hay viento.

   It is cold and windy today.

   Hoy

   today

   hace frío

   it is cold

   hay

   there is

   viento

   wind

   More detail

   Hoy means “today” and places the weather statement in the present day. It is a time adverb, so it does not change for gender or number. hace frío is the standard Spanish weather expression for “it is cold.” Here hace is the third-person singular present form of hacer, but it does not refer to a stated person; Spanish uses this impersonal pattern for weather. The adjective frío describes the temperature. Compare hace calor (“it is hot”) and hace viento (“it is windy,” literally “it makes wind”). hay comes from haber and expresses existence: “there is” or “there are.” The form hay is the same with singular and plural nouns: Hay un libro (“There is a book”) and Hay dos libros (“There are two books”). viento is the noun “wind.” In hay viento, it is the thing whose presence is asserted. With an article, el viento means “the wind,” as in the nearby question ¿Se siente frío el viento? (“Does the wind feel cold?”). Together, Hoy hace frío says that the temperature is cold today, and hay viento adds that wind is present. Thus the complete utterance means: “It is cold and windy today.”

5. También necesito mi sombrero.

   I need my hat too.

   También

   also; too

   necesito

   I need

   mi

   my

   sombrero

   hat

   More detail

   También adds this item to something already relevant: “also” or “too.” It does not replace the earlier information; it includes an additional need. Example: También quiero agua. — “I also want water.” necesito means “I need” here. It is the first-person singular present form of necesitar; the subject yo is normally omitted because the verb form identifies it. Compare necesito “I need” with necesitas “you need.” Example: Necesito ayuda. — “I need help.” mi means “my” before the noun. This possessive agrees with the possessed noun in number, not with the possessor’s gender: mi sombrero is singular, while mis sombreros is plural. The possessive mi has no written accent here; mí with an accent is a different form used after a preposition, as in para mí (“for me”). sombrero means “hat.” It is a masculine noun, and its plural is sombreros. The possessive and noun form the noun phrase mi sombrero, “my hat.” Example: El sombrero es negro. — “The hat is black.” Together, También necesito mi sombrero means “I need my hat too” or “I also need my hat.” También marks the need for the hat as an additional need, necesito supplies the first-person “I need,” and mi sombrero identifies the thing needed.

6. Está junto a la puerta.

   It is by the door.

   Está

   is

   junto a

   by; next to

   puerta

   door

   More detail

   Está is a form of estar, “to be” for a temporary state or location. Here it is the present-tense third-person singular form, used for “is” when locating an unstated singular subject. Compare está with están, “are,” for a plural subject. For location, Spanish uses estar, not ser. junto a is a reusable location pattern meaning “by” or “next to.” The preposition a completes this expression; it is not the same as junto used alone. Example: El libro está junto a la ventana. — “The book is next to the window.” puerta means “door.” Its base form is the singular noun puerta; the plural is puertas. In this sentence it appears after the feminine singular article la: la puerta, “the door.” Together, Está + junto a + la puerta states that an unstated singular subject is located next to the door: “It is by the door.”

7. Me lo pondré antes de salir.

   I will put it on before I leave.

   Me

   on myself

   lo

   it

   pondré

   will put

   antes de salir

   before leaving

   More detail

   Me is a reflexive pronoun here: it shows that the speaker will put the item on themself. In Spanish, ponerse means “to put on” when the object is clothing or something worn. Compare Me pongo la chaqueta — “I put on my jacket.” lo is a masculine singular direct-object pronoun. Here it refers to the item that the fixed translation calls “it”; the sentence does not identify that item more specifically. In me lo pondré, me marks the wearer and lo marks the thing being put on. The two pronouns can occur together in this order: reflexive/indirect-object me + direct-object lo. pondré is the first-person singular simple future of poner, “to put.” The future form uses the irregular stem pondr-: pondré — “I will put,” pondrás — “you will put,” pondrá — “he, she, or you formal will put.” The ending -é identifies the first-person singular form here. antes de salir means “before leaving.” antes de is followed by an infinitive when the relevant subject is understood from the context; salir is the infinitive “to leave” or “to go out.” For example, Cerraré la ventana antes de salir means “I will close the window before leaving.” Together, me lo pondré means “I will put it on myself,” and antes de salir sets that action earlier than the speaker’s leaving. The complete utterance therefore means “I will put it on before I leave.”

8. Entonces estarás listo para el paseo.

   Then you will be ready for the walk.

   Entonces

   Then

   estarás

   you will be

   listo

   ready

   para

   for

   paseo

   walk

   More detail

   Entonces means “then” here, linking this statement to an earlier point in time or sequence. It can introduce a consequence or the next event: Entonces salimos. — “Then we leave.” estarás is the future form of estar for tú singular: estar → estarás. The ending -ás identifies this person in the simple future. Estar is used for a state or condition, so estarás listo means “you will be ready,” not “you will become ready.” listo is the masculine singular form of an adjective meaning “ready” in this use. Spanish adjectives agree with the person or thing they describe, so the feminine singular form is lista, as in estarás lista. The supplied sentence does not identify the gender of the person addressed. In another context, listo can also mean “clever,” but “ready” is the supported meaning here. para introduces the activity or event that the readiness is directed toward. A reusable pattern is estar listo/lista para + noun or estar listo/lista para + infinitive: Estoy lista para salir. — “I am ready to leave.” paseo is a masculine noun meaning “walk” or “outing” here. Its plural is paseos. In the sentence, the definite article el agrees with it: el paseo — “the walk.” Together, estarás listo para el paseo says that you will be ready for the walk. With Entonces at the beginning, the complete utterance means: “Then you will be ready for the walk.”